by Danielle Nyland
Matt Cumberledge has a passion for history. “I’ve had a love of history my entire life,” Matt shares. That love of history propelled him to apply for the open Executive Director position at the Greene County Historical Museum this fall. That love of history – and Greene County – shines through whenever Matt talks about his appointment as the new director of the museum.
Unlike previous directors, Matt is a Greene County native. He currently resides in Brave and his Greene County roots go back generations, with ancestors living in Greene County since 1778. Before becoming the Greene County Historical Museum’s new director, he worked as a master draftsman, then spent seven years in the US Army. After his time in the Army, he worked six years as a Corrections Officer, where he was elected as Vice President of the Union – a position that developed his administrative skills and revealed something else about himself: “I know it’s weird, but I’m a person that likes paperwork,” Matt admits with a laugh. “I find it relaxing.”
Although Matt doesn’t have any formal history education, he is an avid historian and has dedicated much of his life to local history. He’s been a member of the Cornerstone Genealogical Society for over 20 years, joining the group at the age of 13. Matt has been instrumental in preserving two local historic cemeteries and has assisted on research projects and publications highlighting Greene County. He works on the preservation of his family cemetery, the Cumberledge Cemetery in Brave, near the PA/WV borders. He has a special interest in Revolutionary War history and local Native American archaeology, and serves as a Civil War re-enactor as part of the 31st Virginia.
Prior to his appointment as director and before working for the Department of Corrections, Matt volunteered at the museum. He worked with Candy Buchanan to archive photos that had been kept in storage. His love of history, the museum, and the time he spent in the union gave him the courage to apply for opening for director. “After my experience as union Vice President, I thought, ‘I could apply for this job, I could do it.” He adds, “I love this place, I love Greene County history, and it’s an opportunity to preserve history.”
The new year will be a new beginning for the museum, allowing Matt and the board of director’s to start with a clean slate. “We’re making a fresh start with everything. Everything‘s going to be new,” Matt says about the museum’s future. “We’re going to explore things that are positive for the museum.”
The museum is closed for the duration of the winter. During this time, Matt plans on organizing, cleaning, and starting the process of revitalizing the museum. “This may be some of my busiest times, of the year,” Matt says, referring to the museum’s closed months. While the museum is closed, Matt will work on re-cataloging some of the collections and putting together a strategic plan, which will include a few new projects that Matt and the board want to see get moving. “The museum has sat still for a while,” Matt says. “We’re bringing some new energy into it.”
The museum will continue its usual annual events, with a few changes, but will build on those events, making them bigger and adding new events to the schedule. “I really want to build something bigger around archeology month,” Matt says. Archeological month for Pennsylvania is October. The museum’s annual Harvest Festival falls within that month, and the museum is hoping to add more events for the entire month, including weekly speakers and more interactive activities. The museum has a wonderful and varied collection of Native American artifacts that Matt hopes to get on display to visitors.
One large project that has gotten some new energy is the library. Over a decade ago, the old boiler house behind the museum was renovated and set up with plans to turn it into a library, but that was as far as it got. Why it was never finished isn’t clear, but some of the difficulties were the large amount of material and the lack of anyone with the ability to properly develop a catalog. Now the museum is working with volunteers as well as Rea Redd from Waynesburg University to sort and catalog the library materials. The library is a very large project and expectations for completion are anywhere from 6 months to a year.
“I’m very excited about the library,” Matt says. ”It’s not just books, there are documents, ledgers, JP dockets… some of the items haven’t seen the light of day in decades.”
Another ongoing project for the museum is their barbershop exhibit, located in one of the museum’s outbuildings. It’s a construction project meant to showcase the museum’s extensive barbershop collection. Matt would love to see the barbershop display finished and available for barbershop demonstrations in the future.
Other possibilities for the future include looking into the viability of the barn for hosting large events, bringing back the junior historian/archaeologist program or something similar, and adding more interactivity to the museum’s exhibits. A walking trail will be developed along the museum grounds and Glenn Toothman has donated 50 Memory Medallions that will be used along the trail to provide historical information about a person, place, or event. The goal is to open the trail in October, coinciding with the Harvest Festival. The museum also hopes to work with other organizations to reach the museum’s full potential.
About 20 to 30 volunteers are currently involved with the museum and the number is growing every day. “I’ve been contacted daily with people wanting to help. It’s been hard to keep up,” Matt says. “We’ve been receiving an overwhelming amount of support on everything with lots of community backing. That’s what it’s about – making the community happy.”
The museum’s digital presence is also growing. The Facebook page has introduced an Artifact of the Week, bringing pieces of the museum into community homes every week. Matt has hopes to expand into a YouTube channel, with mini documentaries about items in the museum or historical events.
“At the end of the day, before it’s time for me to leave, I spend some time wandering around the museum and looking at all the different things,” Matt shares. “You could do that for a decade and still not quell your fascination with the items that we have here. We have artifacts that represent every aspect of history, from prehistoric times to modern times.”
The mission of the Greene County Historical Society is to “promote an understanding of Greene County history through the preservation and interpretation of local artifacts and stories in order to educate the public and future generations through a narrative of the rich heritage of Greene County and its surrounding areas.” With Matt Cumberledge as Executive Director and a dedicated and enthusiastic board of directors, the GCHS Museum is gearing up to show just how wonderfully it will continue to fulfill its mission and bring Greene County history alive.
